Can't Believe It Has Been You All the Time
by baru42
Summary: Caroline Forbes would have never thought it possible, him bringing her back without even trying to. And here she stands, her humanity switch flipped on again, with the fresh memory of his heartbroken face engraved on her mind.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my lovelies :) So I am not sure what this is. I have never published a story here and I hope you will enjoy it, at least a little. English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for my mistakes. Let me know what you think!**

**This contains spoilers from the episodes 6x18 and 6x19 of TVD and from 2x19 of TO.**

**I don't own TVD, TO or the characters of these TV Shows.**

* * *

**MYSTIC FALLS**

_Stefan Sal__vatore had always been an expert on emotions. Well, at least in regard to them staying turned off. The idea of getting that switch flipped back on again had remained a mystery to him. However, he had been sure today that his plan would work. Showing Caroline the last moments he spent with her mother, talking about the future she wanted for her daughter, should have brought Caroline's humanity back to the surface. And for a moment, he really believed he succeeded, before the blond vampire burst out laughing in his face._

"_You have to try a little bit harder, if you want your sad little Caroline back. Showing me the reason why I turned it off in the first place is not going to work, Stefan."_

_Despite of his failed attempt, he saw a glimpse of a fight in her eyes. He really wanted to believe that. _

Stefan's intensive thoughts are interrupted by his brother, coming to join him in their living room. He doesn't even realize his presence until Damon sits next to him.

"We'll figure something out, don't worry." Damon pats him on the shoulder, trying to cheer him up while pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"I almost broke through her defenses today, Damon. I was so close. But then, she just started to fight me harder," signs Stefan before drinking his own glass up.

"Yeah, well… then WE have to start fighting harder."

"She is just too stubborn for her own good. We need to find the right way to get to her as soon as possible."

"You really know how to pick them, little brother." Damon smirks devilishly, getting an irritated look from his younger sibling. "So how do you propose we do it?"

Stefan remains silent, trying to come up with an idea. Suddenly, he remembers the awkward moment occurring in the Whitmore College bar only a few hours ago. How could have he forgotten about it?

_Coming back to the bar where he left Caroline and her ex lovers behind, Stefan catched them in the middle of Caroline's twisted Trivia game. He considered her questions stupidly easy, not that he cared about them. He was just extremely bored that afternoon. _

_ "Sooo… next question is for Tyler, yay!" said Caroline with a wide smirk on her face while winking happily at Stefan. "With whom have I had the best sex ever, Klaus or Stefan?" _

_ "Well, it finally starts to get interesting," smiled Stefan to himself as he observed Tyler's body shaking from rage over Caroline's provocative question. _

_ "You see Caroline, I don't know anything about Stefan but have you ever wondered why your beloved hybrid left for New Orleans?"_

_ "Obviously, you cannot wait to tell me, Ty. I'm all ears." She smirked. _

_Tyler spat out the answer, his voice full of venom. "He fucked Hayley long before your little tryst in the woods. Now, he is playing a baby daddy to their bastard."_

_Before Caroline could have replied, Damon and his mother stepped in. At the first opportunity, the Blonde disappeared from the bar without a trace._

Looking back at the moment, Stefan can't believe his ignorance of Caroline's stiffened posture after Tyler told her the news. With her emotions off, she shouldn't feel any kind of surprise, should she?

"I have an idea. I need to get Klaus here." Stefan stands up rapidly from the sofa, hurrying towards the main entrance of their house.

"Are you insane?" barks Damon out. "Under no circumstances will you bring that psychotic man into our lives again!"

Stefan slows his pace down, only to explain himself to his brother.

"Damon, think about it! It's no secret that he cares about her, and he has a thousand years of experience in every possible situation. Maybe he'll be willing to help. She may never admit it out loud but he's important to her."

"And you expect him to just drop everything off and come to rescue our damsel in distress?"

"He might. I will never know until I try."

"Can't you just call him?"

"No, this is too personal for a phone call. I'm off to New Orleans. Take care of everything here." And with that, Stefan vanishes into a cold night.

* * *

**NEW ORLEANS**

Everything's dark. The rain outside has not stopped falling since the day before yesterday, and the thunder seems to get stronger and stronger.

Elijah Mikaelson cannot pinpoint precisely the time when everything has turned out so hopeless. He keeps repeating the situation in his head over and over again and still cannot comprehend it. He has lost the battle to Dahlia. While letting his brother rot, daggered in a coffin, he robbed him of a chance to safe his own daughter. Hope Mikaelson has been captured by their aunt in the end.

Rebekah finds him, pacing the length of his niece's nursery like a caged animal.

"It's not your fault, Elijah. We have done everything we could have to prevent it from happening."

He scoffs regretfully, and turns to face his sister. He notices that she alone does not believe the words she has declared seconds ago. Rebekah's eyes are full of sadness, she barely holds herself from crying like a baby. The baby… It's really gone.

"We should start looking for him," interrupts Rebekah the unbearable silence again. Klaus has been missing since everything has fallen apart. No one understands how he got the dagger out, and no one dares looking for him to find out. The trail of bodies reported every minute of the day is the clear evidence that he's out of his mind with worry and anger at the moment.

"What for? He'll come to get his revenge anytime soon. Of that, I am sure."

"Elijah, his daughter has just been taken while we are all imprisoned inside this bloody city, don't you think…"

"That's enough, sister!" He cuts her off loudly. "Leave me alone, please." He adds a little bit calmer.

Rebekah just shakes her head at her noble brother. She really needs him to put more effort into solving the matter at hand.

She is ready to leave. Before that, however, she can't help herself but mention, "I have no idea who you are right now but you're not the brother I know. You are just a coward who doesn't even try to make things right."

Elijah feels the need to tell his sister that he has not given up. That he just needs time to accept everything what has occurred. However, as he turns abruptly to give her an answer, she is already lost in the streets of the French Quarter.

There's a knock on the door few minutes later, and Elijah decides to ignore it completely. He hears someone to repeat his name multiple times. To his visitor's disappointment, no response is coming from the Original.

"I hope I'm not interrupting but I really need to talk to Klaus."

The name of his brother finally wakes Elijah up from his slumber, and he follows the sound of a voice to its owner. He is not able to hide a surprise on his face about the unexpected visitor. Stefan Salvatore stands before him; ready not to give up whatever he has arrived looking for.

"Mr. Salvatore, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"As I have already said I have to find Klaus. It's important."

Elijah starts to laugh. A cold emotionless laughter spreads across the room. Like the idea of Stefan discussing any issues with Klaus is the most hilarious thing in the world to him. Elijah steps up to Stefan and looks him sternly in the eyes. Observing the Original's unusual behavior, Stefan feels a need to back off. Nevertheless, he's not going to give up. He is here for a reason after all.

"Mr. Salvatore I would advise you to leave the city quickly if you want to come home in one piece. My brother does not bargain about anything at the time. He just murders his way through everything to everyone that prevents him from achieving his goal."

"That doesn't matter, I'll risk it. Tell me where I can find him."

Elijah seems in awe at the bravery of the young vampire (_or stupidity; might he add)_ and shares a piece of information about his brother's last whereabouts.

"Very well, we are not exactly on speaking terms with Niklaus right now but I've heard he has been seen at city borders near cemetery. As we are not able to leave the city, he's probably trying to figure out how to break the spell."

Elijah nods at him and turns on his heels to leave. Stefan doesn't even get a chance to thank him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you very much for your reviews and for following and favoring this story! Knowing that someone reads it really makes my day. Again, I apologize for my mistakes. If someone could help me to beta this I would be really grateful. Hope you enjoy Chapter 2!**

* * *

**NEW ORLEANS**

_He should have handled the proposition from Dahlia better. He should have fulfilled her only condition. Despite his better judgment he hesitated to kill that treacherous woman, the mother of his child. And where has it gotten him? Nowhere. She ended up dead anyway at the hand of Freya. And her beloved husband fled the city like the coward he is._

_What was it that Hayley was constantly reminding him? Ah yes, "Jackson is a true leader and he can be always trusted."_

_And Hope… his child was gone. He was searching witches, who could have helped him break Dahlia's spell and locate their position for him, the whole day. In spite of his threats and their desperate pleas, every one of them was useless, therefore dead. He tried to satisfy his anger over the disappointment by spilling their unworthy blood. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work._

And so here he is, taking another gulp of whisky from a bottle to numb the pain while he stares at the invisible wall, holding him from scattering the Earth for his daughter. It's a beautiful irony how much he hates witches while his only child is the most powerful one.

"You look pathetic, dear brother. Isn't that the favorite quote of our father he used to tell you?"

Freya is standing before him, on the opposite side of the barrier. He is left speechless when he spots her, holding baby Hope in her arms. The alcohol bottle is dropped from his hands immediately as he attempts to run towards them but is once again stopped by that frustrating magical wall created by Dahlia.

"It must have been a real fun to watch you try to get past the barrier. Shame that I've missed it."

"Give me my child back and I can show you how much fun I can be." Klaus growls at her furiously.

Meanwhile Hope, who is awake now, starts sobbing. "Not nice of you to scare my future daughter like that, Niklaus."

He clenches fists behind his back in an effort to gain control over his temper for the sake of Hope's safety. Freya steps closer; for him to see the crocodile tears running down his daughter's smooth cheeks.

"Where's Dahlia? Did she assign you to come to say goodbye to the family that never wanted you?"

Freya fires back without further thinking. "Says the most hated member of the same family."

Klaus scorns, trying not to let her know that the words are affecting him more than even he wants to admit.

"Enough!" he roars. "Hand Hope over and maybe you'll survive this. I may even let you play that family soap opera with Rebekah and Elijah."

Freya disregards his empty threats and snaps fingers of her left hand. Klaus gasps because in that very moment, Hope disappears.

His heart skips a beat as he cries out. "What did you do to her?"

"Relax she wasn't here for real, only as part of your imagination. She's alive somewhere far away from here, for now. However, the same can't be said for our aunt Dahlia. I may have put her into a deep, deep sleep."

"How?"

She elaborates, obviously feeling very proud of herself. "By channeling Hope's magic I've been capable to overwhelm Dahlia's powers. She really holds a potential, that daughter of yours. She may come in handy. That's why she is still breathing. But I have to disappoint you; there will be no proper tutorage in regard of coping with her powers. I'll gladly raise that innocent girl in the image of her father. You know as a merciless moody monster. She will even better you. You'll be proud, brother."

"I swear I'll kill you." Klaus' another outrageous endeavor to break through the invisible barrier ends in failure as his body falls onto the ground, knocked back by the force of the spell.

Suddenly, he catches sight of a broken glass piece next to him. Without hesitation, he throws it at his long lost half sister. He can hear Freya hissing in pain while he gets back at his feet.

Watching her rip the glass shred out of her arm, she barks at him hatefully, "Do it again and I promise you it will be Hope who's going to bear consequences for your actions."

He always knew that love is a weakness. He just had no idea that the love for his child will once mean his downfall. He has never begged anyone for anything in his life. Not even when he had been receiving the never ending beatings from his stepfather.

However today, against his better judgment, he catches himself whispering, "Freya listen…" He doesn't complete his sentence because that awful witch is no longer present at her previous spot.

* * *

**MYSTIC FALLS**

Caroline feels weakened and bored. She doesn't even know what is worse, whether listening to Damon and Elena babbling about the damn cure or feeling that excruciating hunger. Probably the former because those two just won't shut up.

She wonders where Stefan is off to because she hasn't seen his martyred expression for a few hours now. Not that she misses him he just provides a bearable source of entertainment because of his unceasing endeavor to make her flip the humanity switch back on.

Caroline sees the door of her prison room being slightly opened. She lies on her bed without any movement when Elena steps inside; apparently bringing her the necessary amount of blood; essential for every vampire in order to survive.

"I need to talk to you." Elena says. Caroline can hear Damon locking the door from the outside behind his girlfriend.

"Caroline, I need to talk." Elena repeats. "Are you sleeping?"

Caroline curses silently, obviously annoyed by her friend's presence. "You could have at least sent Stefan. Unlike you, he's a sight for sore eyes."

"Stefan is in Louisiana, searching for Klaus." Elena's remark gets Caroline to sit up and off the bed. Her blue eyes widen in acknowledgement of the fact.

"Is he serious? Does he really believe that Klaus is the right person for his dirty job?" She exclaims in amusement.

"I asked myself the same question, trust me. But according to your reaction, this mission of Stefan's might not be as useless as we thought. Anyway, Klaus could always compel you to turn it back on if nothing else will work." Elena's obviously trying hard to provoke an emotional reaction from her former best friend but she is only replied with silence.

"I guess we will have to find out after their arrival then." Elena signs in defeat and finally decides to leave her friend alone again. Before she reaches the door, Caroline drinks the assigned amount of blood and manages to snap her friend's neck.

"We will see about that." She whispers contentedly to Elena's unconscious body. Damon bursts into the room only a few seconds later but Caroline's already holding near Elena's heart a wooden stake, made from a broken chair that is now discarded behind them.

"I have a couple of demands if you don't want me to get rid of her." She announces happily to the raven - haired vampire.

"Okay, calm down Barbie," Damon takes a step back, worrying about his girlfriend. After Elena survives this, he will have to give her a piece of mind about her reckless and stupid attitude that has caused the situation they are recently in.

"Firstly, I want you to bring me that cure you two won't stop blubbering about. Secondly, if it isn't obvious you let me go."

"Why do you…"

She cuts him off. "No questions. Just do as I said and she will be alright."

He nods silently and takes the cure out of his pocket, handing it to Caroline. Still endangering Elena, Caroline reaches out for the vial with a wide grin.

"Thank you. And you can tell Stefan that I'm looking forward to hear from him."

With a purpose to distract Damon she stabs Elena into a stomach, tossing her aside. While the elder Salvatore catches his unconscious lover in arms, Caroline is already out of his field of vision.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers! Thank you again for your support to this story. Here's the next chapter for you. :**) **Honestly, I am not sure where I'm going with this. :D**

**Once again, I am sorry for my mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**NEW ORLEANS**

Hiding in the shadows of New Orleans's cemetery, Stefan still tries to digest what he has just witnessed. Observing the altercation between Klaus and the woman, who calls the Hybrid brother, he slowly starts having doubts if this would be the right time to approach Klaus with his request.

Stefan looks towards the solitary figure of the Original. Klaus appears distracted somehow, defeated even. The young vampire would never believe before that he could ever consider using these words for a description of this devil incarnate. Stefan almost makes a decision to leave and take some time to think things through when a text alert catches his attention.

The vibration is enough of a sound for Klaus to notice the presence of some stranger. Stefan doesn't even manage to read the text because he's already pinned against a wall behind him.

"What are you doing here, Ripper?" growls Klaus after realizing who the unwelcomed spectator is.

"Can't…talk…Klaus…" whispers Stefan heavily, feeling his windpipe getting crashed under Klaus' strong grip.

Klaus releases him and waits until Stefan gets his breathing under control. "I won't ask twice, Salvatore. Why are you here? And if you say you came to beg for my blood for one of the morons in Mystic Falls, I swear…"

"I am not here for your precious blood, Klaus." Stefan claims, still massaging his neck. "Look I know you're in a bad mood but I need you to listen without interrupting."

"I'm not only in a bad mood I'm in a bloody murderous mood." Klaus smirks at him and Stefan can feel that he's being mocked. That's absolutely perfect! Firstly, he had to deal with Elijah's cold – hearted laugh and now with Klaus' witty remarks.

"Get to the point already." Klaus looks irritated again.

Stefan doubts that even the Hybrid himself knows how to deal with his mood swings.

Carefully, he lets out an exasperated sigh. "It's about Caroline. Her mother has passed away."

Klaus nods at him knowingly. "I'm aware of it."

Stefan gives him a dirty look as he scoffs in annoyance but Klaus doesn't seem to care about it. "Of course, you are. Why am I even surprised?"

He should expect that Klaus will be keeping tabs on events occurring in Mystic Falls.

"Thanks for letting me know, by the way," Klaus adds after a while.

"I'm not obligated to inform you about anything, Klaus," Stefan replies.

Klaus shrugs, already lost in memories of his last phone call with the sassy Blonde.

_It was shortly after Kol's death when he decided to give her a call. He knew he should keep his distance but deep down, in the middle of this New Orleans's craziness, he's been missing her immensely. _

_He dialed her number and waited, feeling slightly nervous. She picked up after two rings, immediately trying to sound annoyed. "You've reached Caroline Forbes. Because you've promised to never call again, she's going to hang up."_

"_Very funny, sweetheart," he chuckled. Leave it up to her to make him smile, even though she threw a sarcastic remark to him at the very first opportunity. _

"_Technically, I've agreed to never return to Mystic Falls. There was no promise about me contacting you."_

"_I'm serious, Klaus. I don't have time for this! I…"she swallowed, before continuing hesitantly. "I have to plan my mother's funeral."_

_He didn't expect such bad news. "I'm sorry to hear that, Caroline."_

_At that moment, he remembered at his brother's last minutes. Tonight, he had to relive Kol's death again. He already saw his lifeless body once. Why did he allow it to happen again?_

_He wanted to tell her; to share the pain. After short consideration, however, he decided against it. _

"_You're going to be okay, love," he said. "If you need anything-"_

_She interrupted him unexpectedly; her voice cold like ice. "Klaus, I'm really busy. Goodbye." And with that, the line remained silent. _

_His mobile device didn't survive that night. _

_Despite feeling angry at her (or maybe just hurt by her reaction), he sent her flowers next day. There was a small note attached to the bouquet, written in his elegant handwriting:_

_I am truly sorry about your mother, sweetheart. She was a spectacular woman. I will be forever indebted to her for raising such an equally wonderful daughter. _

_I'm here for you if you need anything._

_Yours always, _

_Klaus_

_Until now, no one has a clue that the note was the last thing that made Caroline hesitate before she turned her humanity off that day._

Klaus recovers from the memory. Right now, he has to concentrate on Hope. He pretends to turn his full attention to Stefan again; ready to ignore whichever demand the young Salvatore came to him with.

* * *

Caroline walks out of a recently opened bar near Whitmore College, finally feeling like herself again. Satiated with blood and alcohol, all she desires now is to go to her dorms and sleep. However, she knows she can't. Because that's the first place where her annoyingly stupid friends are going to look for her.

She constantly thinks about the cure in her pocket. What should she do with it? Destroy it? Force it onto someone who does not want it?

"Hello, Caroline." Someone greets her unexpectedly from behind her.

Caroline doesn't recognize the person standing behind her back. She's tall, skinny; with a poorly treated blonde hair on the crown of her head. There is some devious spark she can see in her eyes. And she's holding a baby. Who does that in the middle of a night?

"Who are you? And how do you know me?" Caroline asks impatiently.

The other person grins from ear to ear. She seems very satisfied with something. Caroline notices that the infant in her arms is sleeping. Even with her emotions off, she has to admit that the little one looks really adorable in her slumber.

The woman finally breaks the silence. "I need you to help me, Caroline. I heard you turned your humanity off. I couldn't plan it better even if I wanted to."

Is she insane? Either that or Caroline had too much to drink tonight.

"Well, I'm not interested in single mothers. Sorry, Miss." She says; determined to leave her there alone.

It's a little too late for Caroline to realize on her own that the damn woman is a witch. She's already giving her a headache, making her fall to the ground, shouting loudly.

"Stop! Why are you doing this to me?"

Instead of replying, the other Blonde just commands her further. "You're going to take care of the child for a few days," she says; already only two steps away from Caroline.

"And why would I do that?" Caroline laughs. However, she feels a strong urge to listen to the order. That's not good at all.

"Did you know that with a right amount of powers there are some spells stronger than a compulsion of a vampire? Well, I've casted one on you. Now, be a good girl and follow me."

"This can't be happening," Caroline curses silently as she is forced to give in to the demand of this freaking witch.

After a while, they reach a hotel situated in the neighborhood. The kid starts sobbing uncontrollably a few minutes later after they accommodate themselves in the only free room. Caroline doesn't know how but she's the one trying to calm the child at the moment.

Between the sobs, she hears the other woman say, "By the way, I'm Freya. And the child's name is Hope. We're going to have a lot of fun together."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my lovely readers! **

**I'm sorry for taking more than a month to update the story. However, I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**I apologize for my mistakes again. I know there are lots of them. **

**Happy reading!**

* * *

After sharing the most important pieces about past events occurring in Mystic Falls since Sheriff Forbes' death, Stefan waits impatiently for Klaus' reaction. For the obvious reasons, he leaves out any information about the development of his and Caroline's friendship.

There is an awkward silence. Klaus looks unsure about how to take in the revelation. He doesn't doubt that if Stefan had come to him before this whole mess with Dahlia started, he wouldn't have hesitated to do anything in his power to help Caroline find her way back to the person she used to be.

Unfortunately, there is this biggest But he has to consider now; his daughter's safety. He sighs heavily, suddenly feeling like he's carrying the weigh of the world on his shoulders and it's becoming too much even for the powerful creature such as himself.

A wave of emotion rushes through him as he steadies himself to accept a decision he is about to make. However, he's still not entirely convinced about what reply should come out of his mouth.

"You can't seriously be even considering helping him with everything that's happening right now." Rebekah protests loudly as she appears out of nowhere.

Klaus couldn't quite hide his surprise at the sight of the blonde Original in her own body again but doesn't comment on it.

Recovering quickly from the initial astonishment, he throws her a dagger look even though she has just saved him from voicing his thoughts about Stefan's rescuing Caroline mission.

"That's none of your business, Rebekah," he spits out. "I'd advise you to get lost before I'll loose my temper and forget we WERE siblings once."

The emphasis he places on the word "were" makes her wince. They really did loose him this time.

"Look, you had your revenge, you bit Elijah's lover before his eyes. Could we, please, just move on and concentrate on Hope's rescue?" She proposes, trying not to let his words affect her.

He vamp speeds to her and whispers into her ear, his voice full of malice. "After daggering me twice in a week, and therefore preventing me from saving her I'd be a bloody fool to accept your or Elijah's help."

She swallows hard, not moving a muscle as she recalls that evening in her mind.

_She watched Dahlia and Klaus burst into a room, catching them all off guard. The old bar should have kept them protected from Dahlia's magic; however, the deadly duo entered it without a problem. _

_While plotting how to defeat their wicked aunt, they hadn't noticed Klaus to escape his coffin. Rebekah knew that was their first mistake. That way Dahlia had had time to get their angry brother on her side. _

"_We're not here to fight if not necessary. I just want what rightfully belongs to me," Dahlia demanded calmly but firmly, turning her head towards Haley who was standing in a corner with her arms protectively around Hope. _

"_Nik, you can't let her do that," Rebekah pleaded with her older brother. He didn't even bother to cast a glance in her direction. _

_She noticed Freya with the dagger they made, moving slowly behind every one's back, obviously hoping to succeed in putting it into the other witch's heart. At least that was what Rebekah believed at the time. _

_Elijah was ready to attack but Dahlia's power threw them unexpectedly against a wall and Rebekah fought really hard not to loose her consciousness but her human body disappointed her as her mind slipped into darkness. _

_After coming back to her senses, Rebekah spotted Elijah and Marcel struggling to battle against Dahlia's powers and failing miserably. _

_What caught her attention even more was Klaus approaching Haley and Hope, the fury in his eyes fully observable as he neared them. _

"_Please Klaus, don't do this, I'm her mother." Rebekah heard Haley begging._

"_Well, I'm her father and it didn't stop you from taking her away from me." He accused. "I'm simply returning the favor." _

_Klaus looked at his daughter, resisting the urge to rip the child out off Haley's embrace. _

_Despite his actions, Rebekah could see a glimpse of hurt in his expression. But there was also something else. Was it guilt?_

"_Give Hope to me and I promise you, little wolf that I'll do anything it takes to keep her save and happy." He said, the sentence sounding much tenderer than the last one._

_But Rebekah knew better. That was his goodbye to Haley. He was going to kill her. That meant she needed to act quickly. _

"_Rebekah, here!" She registered Freya shouting her name and throwing a white oak stake in her direction. She caught it, not caring to question momentary how Freya got her hands on it._

_She was only a few steps away from the pair of enraged parents and Klaus was too preoccupied to notice his sister making her way to them. _

_Rebekah stabbed Klaus with the white oak stake in his back; however, she was careful to miss her brother's heart. Klaus gasped in shock and pain, falling slowly to his knees. _

_That was the second mistake Rebekah made in a short time; trusting Freya over him. Everything else had happened really fast. She had to observe powerlessly how Freya drove the stake, intended for Dahlia, into Haley's leg without hesitation, taking Hope away and then handing her over to Dahlia. _

"_No!" Haley cried out. "Don't take…" Her sentence died in the middle._

_Elijah sped to the young Hybrid, determined to help but he was too late. Using her magic, Freya ripped Haley's heart off her chest, just as Dahlia did to Aiden._

"_You know this has been amusing to watch." She laughed as she let the heart fall to the ground. "Goodbye for now."_

_In the meantime, Klaus had managed to get the stake out of his body but the two witches already disappeared, taking his daughter with them. _

_Silence reigned in the room for a while. Everyone was observing Klaus who looked like if he was about to loose it. But the Hybrid didn't move an inch until the silence wasn't broken by Gia, entering the scene. _

"_Elijah, we need to talk. I'd really like to help." She announced confidently. _

_Her words brought Klaus out of his trance. "Well, it looks like you'll be helping me instead of Elijah, love." _

_He chuckled viciously, not hesitating to bite into her neck with aggression. _

"_That's for screwing up all chances I had to save my daughter." With a challenging look, he left. _

Klaus is already walking away from her, just as he has done for dozen of times before. Out of desperation, Rebekah exclaims. "I thought you're going to kill your daughter's mother. I believe that justifies my actions."

Klaus turns around to face his little sister again and shakes his head, looking at her with wary eyes. "I'm not denying that I haven't considered it. But I wouldn't have gone through with it. Your lack of faith in me is impressing."

"Oh please, Nik." Rebekah scoffed in disbelief. "Let's not pretend you're one of the good ones."

Klaus waves a pale hand dismissively, almost in surrender and Rebekah immediately regrets her previous words.

"I don't care what you think, Rebekah. Right now even less than ever." He says curtly, getting back at her for striking a chord with his insecurities.

"Now if I'll excuse me, I'm going to keep trying to find a way to bring my child home."

Soon after Klaus is out of sight, Rebekah finally acknowledges Stefan's presence. "You can really pick out the best time to come asking for a favor."

Stefan nods simply, taking a while before declaring bitterly. "It's not like I wished for it to need to contact any of you." He can hide his anger no longer after how he's been treated by both, Elijah and Klaus.

There is a flash of disappointment in Rebekah's eyes at his directness as she breathes in heavily.

"I hate to be the one to tell you," she starts to elaborate. "But even if we wanted to do anything for you we can't right now; at least not until the next full moon. We are all bound by a spell to the city."

Despite her statement, there is no hint of worry in her voice about their inability to help him out.

* * *

Caroline woke up shortly before sunrise, plotting in her head how to escape the grasp of the spell, keeping her fulfilling wishes of the mad woman who has captured her.

Walking over to a hotel crib, she observes that the baby is awake as well. The little girl is eyeing her intensively, its eyes changing their color from light blue to different shades of a gray - green.

"Hello," Caroline whispers as she picks her up. Hope touches her nose curiously.

"I'll let you know a secret, little one," she says with a smirk. "If I were the old sensitive full of humanity crap Caroline, I would definitely find you adorable. Right now I just find you adorably annoying since you cried almost the whole night."

Hope giggles at her as if she finds her words amusing.

"Well, at least you seems to be happy," Caroline states, sitting down on the bed she slept in.

"We should get you something to eat as your mother demanded." Caroline groans; her mood suddenly worsens after remembering Freya's orders from yesterday. _Don't do anything rash because you'll regret it. Don't leave the room without my permission. Take care of the baby._

"I'm not her mother, just her aunt." Freya announces from under her pillow.

Caroline wonders how long she has been already awake, listening to her babbling.

Freya gets up, takes her clothes from last night and heads to a bathroom; obviously in need of a shower.

"Behave you two," she points a finger on both of them and closes the bathroom door.

Caroline rolls eyes in annoyance. It's not like she has any other choice than to listen to her.

Two hours later, they are ready to hit the road. Getting into Freya's rented car, Caroline hasn't still a clue about their final destination.

Freya answers her unspoken questions as if she could read her mind. "We're going to an airport where we take a plane back to New Orleans. That's where we came here from." She smiles.

"But before that," she mentions calmingly, pulling out a phone from her bag. "You're going to call Klaus and tell him that I've brought his daughter to you, to his vampire lover with no humanity left in her."

Caroline shakes her head, disregarding any other details from Freya's previous statement apart from one. "Impossible! That's Klaus' child?"

She looks at the little baby sleeping in the back of the vehicle, now noticing the resemblance between her and both of her parents.

"Haven't you heard what I said?" Freya rehashes. "You're going to call him and torture him a little with a thought that you're considering to kill his precious girl."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think, please. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, my lovely readers :) If someone is still reading this, I apologize for not writing anything for a year. I hope it'll get better from now on.**

**Enjoy your reading and let me know what you think! **

**Again, I apologize for my mistakes.**

* * *

**MYSTIC FALLS**

Caroline's mouth is still wide open, trying to come up with an excuse which could get her out of this situation when Freya hands over her phone impatiently.

Caroline still tries to reason with the witch. "I won't do it, he'll kill me."

However, despite of her protests, she takes the phone from Freya, feeling the pull of the spell she put on her.

The blond Mikealson just rolls her eyes at her and huffs. "Don't be ridiculous, we both know that's not true."

Caroline swallows hard but begins to dial Klaus' number. She doesn't even have to look for it in the contact list. She knows it by heart. It rings and rings but there is no answer.

Caroline turns to Freya again, after she puts the phone aside. "He's not answering."

"Try again. I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to…" Freya is interrupted in the middle of her sentence by an incoming call. She smiles satisfyingly at her captive, pointing the head at the caller ID. "Now, be a good girl, Caroline and show him your worst. Remember what I've told you."

Hesitantly, Caroline picks up. "Hello, Klaus. Good to know that you didn't forget about me."

She hears a chuckle and imagines him smiling, dimples and all.

"I think, it's quite the opposite, love. As you're the one who has just called me."

"Yeah, keep dreaming, Mikealson."

There's another silent laugh on the other side of the line. Meanwhile, Caroline gets a sharp jab in the ribs and knows that Freya is getting annoyed. She opens her mouth to say something but is cut off by Klaus. "I heard about your little humanity problem, Caroline. I hope…" He doesn't finish the sentence, somehow having no idea how to continue.

"My humanity is none of your business. You should be focusing on other things, Klaus. Like the little baby girl you conceived with the She-devil. Not that I care, of course."

"How do you know about Hope?" He utters, obviously attempting to remain calm. Despite his effort, she can hear something unexpected in his voice. Is he really as frightened as he sounds?

She completely ignores his question. "She's as cute as a button, that daughter of yours. Unlike you, Freya was kind enough to introduce us." She licks her lip and continues. "I'm sure boys will love her when she gets older. IF she gets older."

"Caroline, I know you think that I wouldn't hurt you but if you touch a single hair on her head, I won't be responsible for my actions."

"My, my! Aren't you a little bit moody today?" She shakes her head, dismissing his threats, using her couldn't-care-less voice.

"What do you want me to do, Caroline? In exchange for Hope's safety." He asks, his tone now really desperate.

She knows she pushes her luck, but she has nothing to lose. Just as she knows that she doesn't really want to do this but Freya's command is still inside of her head, making her say all these cruel things.

"I am in possession of something some vampires would kill for. And I want YOU to take it." She claims confidently. She doesn't feel that courageous on the inside. At all.

"Stop talking in riddles." He barks, his patience obvious wearing out.

"The cure. You'll drink it." There's a small pause between her utterances. "And then… maybe… you can have your daughter back."

He's stunned into silence. She knows how he hates even a single thought about being human. He told her. And now, when the opportunity offers itself, she's using it against him.

"We'll meet tomorrow. I'll text you the address. Be there, don't be there that is completely your choice." She proposes, before adding harshly. "However, don't forget about the consequences of your decision."

Not waiting for his reply, she hangs up.

Excited, Freya applauds her loudly. "That was even better than I expected. You should have been an actress. Perfect."

Caroline doesn't feel as confident as Klaus' stepsister. She is persuaded that she will regret her actions later. Even with her emotions off, the young vampire didn't want to make an enemy of the Hydrid. And why did she have to mention the cure? Now even Freya knows she has it.

Caroline's thoughts are interrupted by Hope's crying. She's obviously awake now, trying to get attention. The girl's been fussy almost during the whole day. It was a miracle that she has slept at least an hour.

"Not this again," Freya snarls. "Get her something to eat. I don't want to deal with this more than I have to."

* * *

**NEW ORLEANS**

After the line has gone dead, Klaus remains at the same place, standing in the middle of a street. He stares at his phone, still not believing the conversation which has just occurred between him and Caroline. He catches himself to be asking the same question over and over again. _How did this happen? How… Caroline, threatening his baby girl. The woman he… _He's not able to finish the sentence in his mind. He doesn't want to admit that he loves her, even after everything. Even after this. He wants to hate her, with every fibre in his body. He just doesn't know how.

He's flipping the phone in his hand nervously until he decides to go through his contact list to find Stefan's name. The younger Salvatore picks up after a minute.

"What do you want, Klaus?" Stefan barks into the phone.

"We have a problem, Salvatore. I advise you to change your attitude."

"YOU…advise ME to change my attitude?" he raises his voice in disbelief and hiccups. "There's no we… I have no intention to help you…with…anything. I have to go now. Your lovely bartender is waiting for me with a drink."

Klaus uses his vampire speed to get to Rousseau's as fast as possible. Stefan has just finished his glass of vodka, when he's pushed off of his chair fiercely.

"Listen to me, you drunk moron. Caroline called me, she has my daughter with her now. And the fucking cure, too. Care to explain that little fact?"

Stefan stares at him in awe from the ground. He tries standing up, another couple of hiccups causing him to lose his balance. "I don't know what you're talking about, Klaus." He says, finally able to stand on his feet.

He opens his mouth to add something, but Klaus holds up his hand. He comes closer, his face now inches from Stefan's. "Don't bother lying to me, Stefan. I want to hear the truth. From the beginning. You're going to tell me everything you left out from your sob story about Caroline this morning. How she turned it off, when, why, every single detail. Or I'll compel it out of you. Is that clear?"

Stefan nods, gulping heavily. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make her to turn it back on."

* * *

**SOMEWHERE ON THE ROAD**

They were already on their way to the airport when Caroline was able to get Hope quiet, even though the girl's crying was starting to get on her nerves. Freya is driving and so she is sitting currently at the front seat like she was commanded to, staring out of a window. Her phone beeps into the silence of the car, informing her about a received message.

"_I accept your conditions." _It says.

Caroline closes her eyes slowly. What did she get herself into?


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again :) First of all, I'd like to thank you for the review, for following and favouring this story! I'm here with another chapter! This one was difficult to write but I hope you will like it :)**

**Apologies for my mistakes!**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

She's awakened by a slap right across the face. Opening her eyes, she groans in pain. Her neck hurts, someone probably snapped it a while ago. However, she can't remember what has happened. She doesn't even have time to look around and get accustomed to her surroundings before somebody hits her again. She tries to fight back but her opponent is too strong and so she can feel herself flying across the whole room.

She attempts to stand up but the person is attacking her again, now choking her while whispering into her ear. "I swear you will die a painful death for this." It's a despondent cry, full of malice. But there's also something familiar about it. She finally meets the gaze of her attacker and everything comes back to her. _Oh no… no, no, no, no, no… What has she done?_

Out of nowhere, another voice appears, its tone pleading. "Rebekah, let her go!" Before she can realize who's the other individual in the room with them, the pressure on her throat is gone and she falls to the ground.

* * *

The blonde Original turns to face the younger Salvatore who's currently standing behind her. She's complied with his plea just because she's completely astounded by it. "You can't be serious! After everything, you're defending her?"

Stefan approaches Rebekah calmly, putting his arms around her shoulders to make her see reason. "Right now, you have to find your brother. Freya is probably after him now that he's as vulnerable as ever."

Rebekah steps away from him, shaking angrily. "No, she has to die. I cannot understand how he didn't kill her himself!"

* * *

In the meantime, Caroline sits in the corner, her head buried in her hands, the bickering of the vampire couple miles away from her. She can feel tears falling down her face slowly. The only thing that she's able to focus on is the pain squeezing her chest. She's aware of what it means. She has turned it back on. Hurting him beyond repair has brought back her emotions. But she doesn't want them. Not when she has to live with the memory of her deeds.

_They arrived to New Orleans at sunrise. They still had two hours before they were supposed to meet Klaus at the bar Freya had determined. Caroline didn't know the place but apparently it held some meaning to Klaus and his family, at least according to Freya._

_"Where do you have the cure? Is it safe?" It's already the third time Freya asked the same question. Caroline rolled her eyes and pulled the vial out of her pocket, showing it to her._

_The witch took it from her hand, observing the potion with a satisfied smile. "I can't wait to see him take it."_

_"You know that him drinking the cure can turn his whole sire line, including me, back into humans?" She had been thinking about this fact during the whole flight to Louisiana. Nobody knew what would happen to them if Klaus was forced to take it._

_Freya shrugged her shoulders and gave the vial back to her. "And why should I care? It's not my problem."_

_"Why do you hate him so much? It's not like he was the one who gave you up. Your parents did," Caroline reasoned._

_After a long silence, Freya answered. "I tried you know. To get along with all of them. But he… he decided that I'm not his sister and that I'm lying about everything. Surely one day, he would have turned them against me."_

_It's Caroline's turn to laugh at her. "Blah, blah, blah. What a sob story." She claimed mockingly. "I'm sorry but that's just Klaus for you. He doesn't trust anyone. And you cannot deny that in the end, he's been right about you."_

_Freya didn't look impressed at all by her statement. "Stop it or I'll give you another headache."_

_Caroline pretended to look horrified. "Oh, I'm scared. Nothing can hurt me more than one of your headaches. Help, pleeease…" Freya looked like she was about to burst in anger. Despite of that, Caroline continued her teasing. "Now, if you'll excuse me there's a hot guy across the street staring at me and he obviously wants to become my lunch."_

_"You're not going anywhere," Freya hissed, stopping Caroline's steps in the middle of the street._

_"But I'm hungry and he looks delicious," she said petulantly._

_Freya ignored her complaint. "Get back in the car. Soon, we have somewhere to be. But before that we have to take care of the girl."_

Caroline closes her eyes slowly as her mind returns back to reality. She feels like she's about to fall apart. It's not only because of Klaus that she's thinking about turning it back off. Her mother's dead. She hurt Stefan and Elena… and so many innocents suffered because of her.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Rebekah who grabs her furiously by her T-shirt. Obviously, she's had enough of the fight with Stefan, seeing that he's currently lying unconscious on the floor.

"Tell me where her body is and maybe I will make the upcoming death a little less painful for you."

* * *

Reminding her about the child, Caroline remembers pieces of her conversation with Klaus. It's only been an hour ago but it feels like forever to her.

_"She's gone, Klaus. She won't ever come back to you."_

Caroline remembers his heartbroken face, disbelief written all over it.

_"Freya didn't need her anymore and she knew that the agony over her loss will kill you."_

She remembers him begging her to tell him that she's lying. She taunted him instead.

_"I'm not lying, sweetheart. I was there when it happened."_

She remembers his hand inside her chest, holding her heart. Somehow, his anger didn't scare her.

"_We both know you're not going to kill me."_

She remembers tears streaming down his face. She remembers a sudden feel of guilt in her. And then nothing. Except from darkness.

* * *

"I have to fix this." Caroline catches herself whispering. "I have to fix this. She's not dead. I lied."

Rebekah brings her back to reality again as she shakes her violently, demanding the reply to her previous question.

"Rebekah, hear me out, please. Your niece is alive. I lied. I had to. It was the only way." Caroline repeats loudly.

Rebekah pushes her aside but lets her go. "What are you talking about? Why should I believe a single word coming out of your mouth?"

Caroline wipes tears away from both of her cheeks. "Because it's true. If I'm really lying, you can kill me later. I'll even let you."

"Keep going."

"Freya's put a spell on me. I had to do her bidding, I had no other choice. It works similarly to the sire bond occurring between Klaus and his hybrids."

The Mikaelson sister eyes her distrustfully. "She made you lie to my brother about his daughter being dead?"

"I… No, not exactly." Caroline gasps, looking ashamed. "I did it because I wanted to stop him from drinking the cure. I didn't want to risk becoming human again."

Caroline sees the disapproval in her expression, but she honestly doesn't care at the moment. "Look, can we do this later? I have to find Klaus."

She starts walking away but Rebekah blocks her way. Caroline wants to scream at her to get the hell out of her way but decides against it.

"You've turned it back on, didn't you?"

Caroline nods silently.

"Excellent! I hope the guilt will eat you alive." With that, she turns to leave.

Caroline freezes to the place. All of a sudden, she feels a hand clamp over her shoulder. She turns around and when she sees Stefan facing her, she throws her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Stefan. For everything." She sobs into his neck.

"It's okay. You weren't yourself." He reassures her.

She pulls back a bit and wonders. "You've heard?" He gives her a small smile, nodding.

"But even before, I…"

However, she's not able to complete her sentence because they hear Rebekah shouting at them from the outside. "I'm bloody waiting!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be mostly from Klaus' POV. Have a nice day!**


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